Fifth Annual SAVOR Event Begins Tonight

Press Release

Jun. 8, 2012 at 11:13 AM

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Connecting small and independent craft breweries and craft beer lovers from across the country, the Brewers Association once again hosts the nation’s premier craft beer and food pairing event: SAVORSM: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience. In its fifth year running, SAVOR offers 4,000 epicurean enthusiasts the rare opportunity to meet the personalities behind their favorite beers from all regions of the country, enjoy a tailor-made menu designed by Chef Adam Dulye, and taste a collaborative beer from two of the brewing community’s heritage craft brewers.

SAVOR’s food pairings represent a collaboration between craft brewing and culinary expression. Crafted by Dulye, Brewers Association culinary consultant and chef/owner of The Monk’s Kettle and The Abbot’s Cellar in San Francisco, the menu was driven solely by the beers each brewery selected to pour. Menu items focused on both comparison and contrast pairings. The menu was planned only after this year’s final beers were selected, at which point a group of chefs and Cicerones┬« were assembled to create a flavor profile for the overall menu, with 42 items and 149 food pairings.

“Craft brewers are a community and SAVOR is the perfect platform to display their attitude of collaboration and cooperation,” said Nancy Johnson, event director for the Brewers Association. “Although these breweries compete, they all work together to further the success of craft brewing as a whole. SAVOR really captures that spirit.”

This year, Boulevard Brewing Co. and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. partnered to create Terra Incognita—a collaboration beer exclusively for SAVOR attendees to taste at the event and receive as an exit gift. Named to honor the bold explorers who traveled the California Trail from Boulevard’s home in Kansas City to Sierra Nevada’s in Northern California, Terra Incognita enjoyed a similar journey. The brewing process began with Sierra Nevada’s Estate-Grown pale malt, amber malt, wheat and unmalted wheat. From there, the beer was hopped with Bravo and Styrian Goldings during the boil, and finished by dry-hopping with East Kent Goldings. The beer then traveled the California Trail, in reverse, to reach Boulevard, where it was treated with Brettanomyces (a wild yeast), aged in Missouri Oak barrels and then bottled in time for SAVOR attendees to enjoy.

Terra Incognita is just one of the many collaborative beers that craft beer lovers can taste throughout the year. In 2011, members of the craft brewing community collaborated on dozens of special beers, and the trend of collaboration between craft brewers is only increasing as consumers—and brewers alike—continue to support these projects.

“Collaboration beers are a growing trend among craft brewers. Where most businesses tend to thrive on competition, craft brewers are embracing partnerships with their neighbors and counterparts, and in the process, creating unique, full-flavored craft beers that are in high demand,” added Julia Herz, craft beer program director for the Brewers Association. “The ability of brewers to blend their talents serves to elevate the innovations of the craft beer community.”